Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Climb 7.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Valaris shares rose 7.8% to $84.54 in Monday trading, reaching an intraday high of $83.89, though trading volume was 79% below its average.
• Susquehanna raised its price target from $80 to $86 while maintaining a neutral rating. Despite this increase, analysts’ consensus remains “Reduce,” with an average target of $67.80.
• Valaris exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.72 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $0.31 consensus estimate and revenue of $539.2 million versus $488.5 million expected.

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) traded up 7.8% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $83.89 and last traded at $84.5390. 249,474 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,207,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VAL shares. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Valaris from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valaris from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $67.80.

Valaris Trading Up 7.8%

The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $83.17 and its 200-day moving average is $87.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $539.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $488.52 million. Valaris had a net margin of 43.95% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm's revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Valaris by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,349,443 shares of the company's stock worth $328,382,000 after buying an additional 114,730 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 2nd quarter worth about $114,355,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Valaris by 67.8% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,363,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,651,000 after purchasing an additional 550,987 shares during the last quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC boosted its stake in Valaris by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates LLC now owns 1,319,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,349,000 after purchasing an additional 257,281 shares during the period. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valaris during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,249,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited NYSE: VAL is an offshore drilling contractor that provides drilling services to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates a fleet of offshore rigs, including drillships, semisubmersible rigs and jackup rigs, used to explore for and develop offshore energy resources.

Its services support drilling programs in a range of offshore environments, from shallow-water projects using jackup rigs to deepwater and ultra-deepwater operations using drillships and semisubmersible rigs.

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